This was
another big name last Oscar season, even though it only managed to take away
the award for Sound Editing. Well, with names as big as Clint Eastwood and
Bradley Cooper attached it could hardly help being in the limelight. I have
infinite respect and admiration for Clint Eastwood. I quote High planes drifter
on a regular basis when I write. But I do also have to point out that I – and
quite a few other – people have accused him in the past of basically playing
himself in films and making the same film over and over again. This time he has
a rather extraordinary true story on his hands – so how has he fared? Same film
again – or something a little different?
The hero of
our story, brought to life by Bradley Cooper is legendary American sniper Chris
Kyle. During his four tours in Iraq, Kyle quickly raised to rank of legend
through his sheer dedication to service, accuracy when shooting and
determination to do what is truly right. The men admire and support him, his superiors
admire him and the public read about him with admiration in the papers… But one
cannot see the things Kyle has seen without changing. Every time he comes home
to his wife and children, Kyle finds it harder and harder to leave the war
behind… In fact, even if he does survive the fighting, his memories may well
end up consuming him… The question is, will he admit this – even to himself –
and start fighting back in time ?
Looking at
the list of wins, I can’t help but think that Bradley Cooper deserved a little
more than he actually ended up receiving – his performance is pretty much what
makes the film not just another Clint Eastwood film. Because given the subject
matter, I cannot quite imagine anyone else making this film. And Eastwood makes
it exactly the way we imagine he would make it. Kyle was evidently quite an
extraordinary man, don’t get me wrong, but the way the story goes, how all
American he is throughout, his easy rise to stardom as a sniper… It is all…
Just too smooth. Eastwood finishes the film with real footage of Kyles funeral
(I reckon his death is not a spoiler as it pretty much counts as common
knowledge) which was of course a military, patriotic affair. No wonder his
critics accuse Eastwood of tubthumping banality – it is JUST like a million other films made to show the horrors
of war. Smooth, polished but without an original bone in its body.
Take a film
like The Hurt Locker. Jeremy Renners character William James is Kyles
equivalent in the film and paints a completely different picture. He is a lot
harder to like, he is a lot less of a gentleman, he has lost a lot of his
positive emotions in all aspects of life and, to be honest, I think he is a
much more realistic portrayal of what war can do to a good man. I almost feel
the film is in denial about the sheer amount of trauma Kyle would have had to
cope with. We do not see the grit and dirt of the matter at all, only the
polished surface you present to visitors.
Which is
precisely why I say Bradley Cooper needs a few more accolades for the work he
did here. Cooper sticks to the letter of the script, it is true. His character
is always polite smiling and courteous, and yet… The nuances, the tiniest
gestures, the little moments Cooper manages to insert into his all round good
old American cowboy routine give us hair raising insights into what must be
going through Kyles mind. It is without a doubt the tonic the films overly
varnished surface needed – I just devoutly wish there were more of those hints.
If our imaginations were meant to make up the rest of the horrors, well, the
film does not give us enough to work with.
Don’t get
me wrong, I don’t think that all films pertaining to war should necessarily end
badly, be dark and not have any positive emotion in them at all. But the trauma
Kyle went through lies at the heart of the story. The characters ark consists
of his entering this state of trauma and coming out the other side – at least
supposedly. We have to be able to see the trauma so we can rejoice with him and
his family when he comes out on the other side. If we do not believe in the trauma
in the first place, well, there is a part of the film that becomes completely pointless
– the emotional journey has been aborted before it even began. Bradley Coopers
extraordinary performance rescues the story to a certain point, but the other
failing is, in my opinion, simply too great.
American
Sniper is without doubt a good film. It is fascinating to watch, it is a story
well worth being told. But it is, sadly, yet ANOTHER war film and something of
a missed opportunity. By all means watch, but don’t expect it to change your
world…
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